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Stocks gain as investors await G-20 summit
27-Jun-19 16:15 ET
Dow -10.24 at 26526.58, Nasdaq +57.79 at 7967.75, S&P +11.14 at 2924.92

https://www.briefing.com/investor/markets/stock-market-update/2019/6/27/stocks-gain-as-investors-await-g20-summit.htm

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 advanced 0.4% on Thursday, snapping a four-session losing streak, as investors looked forward to the G-20 summit in Japan. Shares of financial companies led the broad-based advance, while energy stocks capped additional gains.

The Nasdaq Composite increased 0.7%, and the Russell 2000 increased 1.9%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.1%, weighed down by shares of Boeing (BA 364.02, -10.92, -2.9%) after the company announced a setback for its 737 MAX update.

President Trump will meet with President Xi on the second day of the G-20 summit (Friday night in the U.S., Saturday morning in Japan), which will provide the market more clarity on the prospects for a deal. Reports today only added to the uncertainty and confusion in the market.

The South China Morning Post indicated that the two sides reached a trade truce to advance talks, but NEC Director Larry Kudlow said no specific agreements have been made prior to the summit. The Wall Street Journal also followed up, specifying that President Xi will outline a set of conditions to President Trump that the U.S. should meet in order to continue talks.

Despite the noise leading up to the meeting, the positive disposition in the market reflected some optimism that two sides can agree to keep talking without the imposition of new tariffs. Ten of the 11 S&P 500 sectors finished in the green, led by the financials (+0.9%), real estate (+0.7%), and health care (+0.6%) sectors. The energy sector (-0.8%) was the lone exception.

Boeing (BA 364.02, -10.92) was a notable laggard, losing 2.9% after it disclosed that the FAA asked it to address a risk that its 737 software patch overlooked. Boeing said that it will need an additional three months to fix the issue, raising some questions about its earnings outlook.

In earnings news, Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA 54.52, +2.14, +4.1%) and KB Home (KBH 25.39, +1.86, +7.9%) both pleased investors with their results. Conagra Brands (CAG 25.43, -3.50, -12.1%), on the other hand, let investors down with disappointing earnings results and guidance.

U.S. Treasuries finished on a higher note, driving yields lower across the curve. The 2-yr yield and the 10-yr yield declined four basis points each to 1.74% and 2.01%, respectively. The U.S. Dollar Index was unchanged at 96.22. WTI crude increased 0.1% to $59.37/bbl.

Reviewing Thursday's economic data, which included the weekly Initial and Continuing Claims report, the third estimate for first quarter GDP, and Pending Home Sales for May:

The Department of Labor reported initial jobless claims for the week ending June 22 increased by 10,000 to 227,000 (Briefing.com consensus 219,000). Continuing claims for the week ending June 15 increased by 22,000 to 1.688 million.
The key takeaway from the report is that there hasn't been any meaningful change in the four-week moving average for initial claims, which remains at an encouragingly low level.
The third estimate for Q1 GDP was left unchanged at 3.1%, as expected, although the contribution to that estimate was altered. The GDP Price Deflator was up 0.9% (Briefing.com consensus 0.8%) after it was indicated to be up 0.8% in the second estimate.
The key takeaway from the report was the recognition that personal spending growth was revised down to 0.9% from 1.3% in the second estimate.
Pending Home Sales increased 1.1% in May (Briefing.com consensus +1.0%). Today's reading follows an unrevised 1.5% decline in April.

Looking ahead, investors will receive the following data on Friday: Personal Income and Spending for May, the PCE Price Index for May, the Chicago PMI for June, and the University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment for June.

Nasdaq Composite +20.1% YTD
S&P 500 +16.7% YTD
Russell 2000 +14.7% YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average +13.7% YTD